Using loose powder eye shadow can be a nightmare. Not only does it seem to fall off the brush, it tends to smear and mix poorly. However, we tried our hand at Pari Beauty’s loose shadow, to see if we could bust any myths. You might be surprised at what we found about the tricky beauty product.

1. Colour selectionThe thing about loose powder shadow is that no matter how frustrated you get while applying it, you’ll still brave it because of the colour selection. In Pari Beauty’s case, there are eight shades of which to choose from, and by no means are they dull. Vibrant blues, dark pink, and violet were perfect to accent black eyeliner and mascara, which made us hope we’d be successful even more.

2. Application – Attempt 1They say if you want to do something, you might as well do it right, so that’s why we used a slanted shadow brush to apply product to the eyelid crease. And success! Provided you knock off any access powder, you can totally swing a fine line of shadow without any smearing. Theactual eyelid, however, was a bit different.

3. Application – Attempt 2This is where things got tricky. While set powders seem to work with rounded eye shadow brushes, loose don’t adhere as well. However, unlike when you’re applying colour at the crease, you have more room to blend and get a little messier, so instead of relying solely on your makeup brush, wash your hands, and use your finger to blend colour on the eyelid. We gave that makeup tip a try, and it was perfect — no need for damage control or anything.

4. The verdictWe’ve learned that loose shadow powder will only work if you’re willing to invest in the tools and the time it takes to make them work. If you’re in a rush, you’ll probably want to opt out of the Pari Beauty cubes since you’ll not only want to investigate every colour (there are so many!), but you’ll need to use your brush and your fingers to create the right effect. But if you’re willing to take a few extra minutes? Consider it a go – and the loose powder myth busted.